Financial standing, and how to evidence it

A vehicle that is not maintained is dangerous, and maintenance is the first thing a struggling operator defers. Financial standing exists so that a traffic commissioner can see there is enough money behind the fleet to keep it safe when work is thin.

It is not paid to anyone and it is not held by anyone else. It is money available to you, that has to stay available for as long as the licence runs — not only on the day you apply.

A standard licence, national or international, needs £8,000 for the first vehicle and £4,500 for each vehicle after it. A restricted licence needs £3,100 for the first and £1,700 for each one after. Where the international work is done in light goods vehicles only, it is £1,600 and £800.

The figure follows the number of vehicles authorised, not the number you happen to be running. Five vehicles authorised on a standard licence means £26,000, whether four of them are parked or not.

The same levels apply to goods and passenger licences. Checked against the official guidance on 9 September 2026. Confirm the current figure before you rely on it, because these levels are reviewed.

Bank statements are the ordinary answer and the easiest to accept. Audited accounts can be used. An overdraft facility counts, as long as it is committed and evidenced by the bank rather than described by you. What matters in every case is that the money could be reached quickly — usually taken as within thirty days — rather than being tied up in property, stock or a vehicle.

The evidence has to be in the name of the entity applying for the licence. A director’s personal account is not the company’s money, and a parent company’s balance is not the subsidiary’s.

A traffic commissioner looks at an average across a period — three months is the usual window — so a balance that spikes on the day the statements were printed does not help. A business that dips below the figure in month two has not met it, even if months one and three are comfortable.

This is why it pays to plan the timing. If you need to build the balance, start before you apply rather than after you are asked.

• Money held in a director’s name, or in a different company in the group.
• A loan paid in, evidenced, and paid straight back out again — a commissioner will see the round trip.
• An overdraft quoted from memory rather than confirmed in writing by the bank.
• Statements covering the wrong weeks, or missing pages, or in a currency that has to be converted without a rate.
• Authorising more vehicles than you need, and then failing the higher figure that comes with them.

Financial standing is a continuing condition. It can be checked at any time, it is checked at continuation, and losing it is grounds to revoke a licence. If the business hits trouble, a period of grace can be granted to put it right — but only if you ask, and asking early reads very differently from being found out.

Where finance is in question, the case is often called to a public inquiry. The Senior Traffic Commissioner’s statutory documents set out how the tests are applied.